Partnership
by Kitsune Moonstar
Summary: Sato trusts her partner. So when her co-workers try to pull one over on her in regards to Takagi, she doesn't mind giving them enough rope to hang themselves with.


Author's note: I do not own Detective Conan or its characters. I also do not own the Rurouni Kenshin characters that make a cameo appearance.

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**Partnership**

Miwako stretched and looked up from her paperwork. She'd been working on reports all morning, and she was more than ready for a break. She scanned the room for her partner, but Takagi was no where in sight. He'd probably already headed the break room. She waited a few more minutes and see if he brought her some coffee. He had a tendency to do that when he took his break before she did. Miwako flexed her fingers; they had been cramping from hours spent wrapped around a pen.

"Did you see that babe Takagi's with?"

Her ears perked up at the sound of her partner's name. The three men talking don't seem to have notice that she was within earshot.

"Did I. Man, did you see those legs? Do you know what she's doing here?"

"Not a clue." Shiratori shot a glance in her direction but shrugged. "But she's definitely beautiful."

If he was trying to make her jealous, it wasn't going to work. While she and Takagi hadn't quite defined what their relationship was, Miwako trusted him. She trusted him as her partner, and she trusted him not to hurt her. She could also think at least a half a dozen reasons why Takagi might be in the company of a beautiful woman that didn't include him dating her. Miwako ignored the rest of their speculating and rose to her feet. If Takagi was escorting someone around, he wouldn't have gotten her coffee.

Miwako had just returned with her cup of hot coffee when Takagi entered the office with a beautiful woman about his same age. She was about the same height as Takagi with long raven hair pulled up in a neat knot at the base of her skull. She wore a dark burgundy skirt with a black top, and her eyes were grey. Takagi seemed a little flustered. The other men in the room were making their way over to the pair.

"Who's your friend, Takagi?" Shiratori asked.

Takagi took a breath. "Guys, this is Tokio Saito."

Shiratori smirked. "And how did such a lovely lady end up in the company of our friend here?"

Tokio simply raised an eyebrow. "Oh yes, do keep flirting with me. I'm sure my husband will appreciate it."

Miwako's eyes flicked down to the woman's left hand. It bore a simple gold ring. She let out a laugh, making her way over to the group. She knew who this was now.

Holding out her hand, she smiled. "I'm Miwako Sato."

Tokio smiled. "Tokio. I've heard so much about you."

"Likewise."

The rest of the boys were looking confused. Takagi sighed.

"Tokio's my twin sister," he explained. "Her husband works downstairs."

"Your twin sister?" Shiratori looked incredulously.

"Older by three minutes." Tokio smiled. "My husband and I just moved back to Tokyo recently. He's been working with the Kyoto Police Department."

Miwako glanced over at Takagi and shared a smile. She wondered if the others would figure out who Tokio's husband was. She already knew, but then she was the only one in their office besides Megure who knew that Takagi had a twin sister. Tokio flashed her a smile that said she knew exactly what Miwako was thinking.

"What department is your husband in?" Chiba asked.

"Oh, Hajime mostly does undercover work."

She gave Shiratori points; it didn't take him long to connect the dots.

"You're married to Hajime Saito?"

"I didn't know he was even married," someone muttered.

Miwako just shook her head. Hajime Saito was an infamous name. He was an outstanding cop, known for his ability to close just about any case he was handed and his sense of justice. However, he was also known for sarcasm and a prickly temper. He was also something of a lone wolf and hardly ever operated worked with a partner. And she could probably imagine his reaction to men flirting with his wife.

"Anyway, I just dropped by to see if Wataru was free for dinner later this week. But since I'm here," Tokio glanced over at Miwako, "I was wondering if you'd like to get together for lunch sometime, Miwako-san?"

"I'd love to." Miwako wanted to hear some of Takagi's stories from his sister's point of view. Besides, from everything she knew about Tokio, the two of them would probably become quite good friends.

Takagi was looking a little concerned. She didn't blame him. Miwako would bet that Tokio had a number of embarrassing stories about her younger brother and would be more than willing to share some of them with Miwako.

Shiratori appeared to be muttering to himself. "I can't understand how someone like Saito could--"

"How someone like I could what?"

The man was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Hajime Saito was tall and lean, and he had a rather angular face. It was his eyes that really struck you. Piercing amber that seemed to be able to look through you. He shifted his gaze from the knot of police officers to his wife. Tokio just smiled.

"Inspector Kondo would like to borrow your expertise."

Tokio raised an eyebrow at her husband. "Which expertise?"

"Psychology. Not attracting serial killers."

Tokio sighed and made her way over to him. "Technically, only two of them were serial killers. One was a mass murderer, one was simply a murderer, one was a bank robber with an obsessive personality, and one was a religious zealot."

"They all tried to kill you."

"Well, yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything." Tokio glanced back at Miwako. "Call me, and we'll figure out lunch. Wataru has my number."

And with that they were gone. Takagi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Deciding to save her partner before their coworkers could start interrogating him, Miwako grabbed the nearest file and snagged her partner.

"We're going to go run down some leads for the Mizuno case. We'll be back later."

Takagi shot her a smile as they made their way to the parking garage. "Thanks for the save."

"No problem. I figured that you wouldn't want to spend the rest of the afternoon explaining your sister's tendency to get into trouble, though I would love to hear a little more about some of those incidents." Miwako smiled. "And don't think you can get away with forgetting to give me her number. I'm looking forward to trading stories with her."

"I'm doomed, aren't I?"

Miwako laughed. "Oh probably. It could have been worse though. She could have turned when Conan was around. Given the way he attracts dead bodies and she attracts killers, it would have been the perfect recipe for a serial killer."


End file.
